Sonic & Shae
by kitana assasins6504
Summary: a girl wakes up, except shes not a girl anymore. She's a hedgehog. Let's read about her adventures. Shall we?


div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Chapter 1:/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"My name is Shae. And I'm a girl trapped in a hedgehog's body. At least it's still a girl hedgehog. Anyway, let me tell you how I came to be this way. /div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"It was a normal day at school, and the final period bell had just rung. Suddenly, I couldn't see for a bright white light, blinding me. Eyes screwed shut, I heard a voice shout,/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;""You won't get away with this, Egghead!" And everything went dark./div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"This is where y'all come in. I wake up in a forest with my head feeling like someone had a heyday with my skull and cotton balls. I sit up and immediately turn to the side, where I vomit my ham and cheese from lunch. I wipe my mouth and wince. Something pricked me. I look at my hands and start. My hands are covered with white gloves, my arms with little rows of spikes like a... Hedgehog's. /div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"'I need to find some water.' I think to myself, and struggling to my feet, stagger out of the clearing where I awoke. But suddenly, my body shuts down, and I black out./div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"I wake up in a bed and think to myself, 'I REALLY need to stop passing out.' And then I start wondering how I'm in a bed. Suddenly, a rose hedgehog walks in, carrying a tray holding two teacups and a tea kettle. She sees I'm awake and smiles warmly. /div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;""Ah, so my mysterious guest is awake." She grins again. "You're lucky you didn't wake up when Sonic was here. For some reason, he was grouchy. But after finding an unconscious hedgehog, wouldn't anybody?"/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;""I-I don't know."/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;""She speaks, glory be! What's your name, sweetie?"/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;""Shae. And you?"/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"She smiles. "Amy Rose. And as soon as we get you up and about, you'll meet the rest of the gang."/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Chapter 2:/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Over the next two days, I've met all the gang, everyone from Sonic to Amy. But all the people, animals, I don't know what to call them, make me uncomfortable. I spend most of my time brooding on the roof, the only bright spots of my day are when Tails, Sonic's surrogate brother and inventor, comes over and we discuss inventions. But my favorite thing to do is watch. Exploring Amy's house, where she graciously offered to let me live, I discovered nooks and crannies from which I could effectively hide and in turn spy. One night, I'm on the roof when I hear a shudder and a great boom, and leap off the roof to investigate. When I come to the site of the disturbance, an odd, chilling sight greets me. What looks like a tank that grew drill arms is cutting through the forest and another two arms are capturing and caging any woodland critters they come upon. Enraged, I leap out of the trees where I was situated and land on the tank's glass dome. Mockingly polite, I rap the dome three times. Then I cup my gloved hands around my mouth and scream, "Anybody home?!" In response, one of the claw arms swoop around and dive after me, and with difficult speed and agility for a human, I duck the arm, and lean against the glass, pretending to examine my nails. But when the claw swings around again, I try to dive out of the way, but it glances my wrist, splintering the bone. I scream and cradle my wrist in my good hand. Suddenly, my wrist lights on fire, and I scream, stretching my arm at full length away from me. As quickly as it started, the fire burns out and I notice the pain is gone. I flex my fingers twice in curiosity, but no pain. I frown and look around. I think I find my answer inside. In a little crevice in the dashboard, a regal red jewel sits. It was flickering at the same rate as the flames on my hand. 'What is that? I must get it and find out. But how?' As if in answer to my question, the jewel makes pure adrenalin flood my veins and I easily break the glass. I reach in, grab the jewel, and am gone, leaving behind a breath of a breeze, and shattered glass to prove my existence./div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Chapter 3: /div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"I find a cave where I sit, examining the jewel. I stay that way for a day, at least. It would've been longer, but I was disturbed. The crash I'd heard with the tank I hear again, this time not so far away. And I also hear a voice that takes me a minute to place, but I eventually realize it's Sonic. I stand up and freeze. I have no way to help him. I nearly rip my quills out in frustration. The ruby senses my frustration, and it glows so bright, I have to avert my eyes. The light fades only a little, so I still have to deal with some brightness when I open my eyes. I gasp. The jewel is gone, but, amazingly, I am surrounded by red flames. I grin and flex my hands. This is going to be fun. /div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Chapter 4:/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"I find Sonic leaping about the tank and occasionally pausing to taunt Eggman. I leap up and pause. "Hey, can I join the party?" I yell out. He looks at me, does a double-take, and grins. "Sure! Avoid the claws! They'll toss you in that cage!" He yells in response. An idea starts to form in my head. I need to get caught for it to work, however. "Got it!" I assure him. For a few minutes, we battle Eggman, who was momentarily enraged when I appeared. He quickly collected his cool again, however, and the battle resumed. Finally, I spy my chance to get caught. When one of the claws dives at me, I hesitate a second too long, and it catches me by the foot. It lifts me up, conveniently passing Sonic. So quick I pray he catches it, I flash him a thumbs-up sign. He looks shocked but acknowledges it with a nod. Then I'm tossed in the cage./div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Chapter 5:/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Sonic runs back to his house and quickly flips on his communicator. "Hey, is anyone listening? If so, you guys need to hear this. I found Shae. It was the weirdest thing. She looked like she was on fire and was enjoying it. We battled with Egghead a little bit, but then she let herself get caught. I hope she has a plan, but just in case she needs backup, meet me at Eggman's fort." For some reason, everyone is listening, and they all quickly voice their assent./div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Chapter 6:/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Eggman puts me in a cage made of clear, reinforced glass. "So, the prodigal daughter returns! I would've thought my machine would work a little longer." Glancing around, I spy Sonic in the air vent. He quickly puts his finger to his mouth and winks. I half-smile and turn back to Eggman. "What machine, you deranged lunatic?" I ask. "Well, to be honest, you've always been a hedgehog, contrary to what your memories tell you. My machine kept you in a stasis sleep and replaced your memories and everyone else's of you." I stare at him, shell-shocked. Rage fills my veins. "Dang it, Eggman. And I was just starting to like you." I punch the glass, and it cracks beneath my fist. Egghead reels back in shock and fear. "How did you do that? Not even Knuckles could break that glass." "Well, I'm not Knuckles, am I, Doctor?" I spit out the last word. "I am much, much worse." I punch again, and the entire cage collapses around me. "Heck hath less fury than me ticked, and it's time you learned that."/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Chapter 7:/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"I leap at him and with both hands grab his mustache. "Wish I had that jewel that lit me on fire. Looked more like an emerald than a ruby. Then I could burn you from the mustache on. Whoops!" I say and flip him out of his chair and into the wall behind me. "What's the cure?" I say, putting my foot on his arm. "I'll never tell." He says defiantly. "Okay." I say and suddenly stomp my foot into his arm, feeling the bone splinter beneath it. He screams in agony. "N-no..." He whimpers. I laugh, slightly crazed. "It'd be a shame if I did this again to your other arm, Egghead." I say, kneeling close to him. "What...Is...The...Cure?" "All s-seven Chaos emeralds." He tells me and passes out. I stand triumphant, but horrified. I look at my hands and clench them. I'm horrified of myself. "What am I?" I yell, and run out, hot tears blinding me./div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Chapter 8:Sonic's perspective /div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"The rest of the gang and I crawl out of the air vent, and stand around, shocked. Tails' tails are desperately trying to spin, but he holds them in his hand, while everyone else stands around confused. I, however, grab some wire and tie Egghead up. Cream looks at him curiously. "Why'd you tie him up, Sonic?" She asks. "So he can't wake up and capture us. Besides, if he struggles, his hurt arm will quickly make him stop. Anyway, what do we do about Shae? She's bound to try to go after the Chaos emeralds on her own, but there's all kinds of things that could happen." "Maybe Amy and I could try to find her using the Tornado." Tails suggests. I cross my arms. "Alright, and I'll try to find her from the ground." We all nod and run off./div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Chapter 9:/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"The shame of what I did to Eggman is eating me alive, but so is the need to find the seven jewels. I am now sure that red jewel Egghead had was a Chaos Emerald. Apparently when you use them, they vanish to somewhere new. But thanks to Eggman erasing my memories, I've got no idea where I am. I sit down and put my head in my hands. Suddenly there's a whooshing sound and a comforting hand places itself on my shoulder. I look up. It's Sonic. "Why aren't you running away? What I did to Egghead should repulse you." "Nah," He says, casually plopping down on the rock next to me. "Ever since I first met Egghead, I've been wanting to do that for years. Just, not that extreme." He says, chuckling quietly. "It's just...What if I was a bad guy, Sonic? I could be anything, for all both you and I know." He stands up suddenly. "Yeah," He offers me his hand, "But something's telling me that you were and are on my side." I smile and pull myself up with his help. "Thanks Sonic. I needed that." "No big deal. Now let's go and try to find the Chaos Emeralds. I wanna find out who you are. And I'm guessing so do you."/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Chapter 10:/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"I awake the next morning extremely nauseous and immediately curl into the fetal position. Someone places a cool washcloth on my forehead and I sigh in relief. "Shae. Are you awake?" A strangely familiar voice says. I mumble and turn back over where sleep comes back quickly./div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Chapter 11:/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Amy sighs. "It's no good. She's out again. What happened to her, Sonic?" He holds an ice pack to his eye and winces a little with every breath. "We'd set out to find the Chaos Emeralds. I'd told you I found Shae, but that there was an issue. You came to help and found both of us unconscious. What had happened was this: On our way to an old abandoned temple, Egghead and some of his robots ambushed us. Before we could fight, one of them shot Shae with some kind of dart. Another knocked me into a tree, face-first. I fought the pain long enough to defeat the robots and to hide us in a tree, where I then passed out, and where you found us. I honestly have no idea what was on that dart, but I'm willing to bet some virus." Tails pipes up. "Maybe that's why she's unconscious. Her system could be fighting off the virus. Maybe Vanilla could come over and help us out by telling us what this virus is." Cream's eyes light up. "I can run home and get Mama!" She says, and skips out the door. Tails follows close behind. Amy smiles sadly, and turns back to Shae, again dabbing her forehead. She drops the washcloth and plops down next to Sonic. He covers her hand with his, but she's too tired to start blushing. "Amy, you've been running yourself into the ground since you guys found us. You need to rest." "Yeah, I know, but..." "But what?" Sonic asks, but Amy is already asleep, her head resting on his shoulder. He smirks and, grabbing a blanket, covers her up. "Night, Amy." He whispers and closes his own eyes./div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Chapter 12:/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"My eyes shoot open and I bolt up, which is a mistake. I yell in agony and hurriedly place my head between my knees, rocking myself back and forth, gently. In my periphery vision, I see Sonic and Amy, who were sleeping close together, bolt up. (They're such a cute couple.) Amy runs over and hovers over me, worry radiating off of her. "I'll get Vanilla." Sonic says and dashes out the door. Weakly, I flash Amy a thumbs-up, trying to give her a smile, but instead grimacing in pain. She moans and does what sounds like a prayer under her breath. "E-Egghead lied." "What do you mean, Shae?" Amy asks, confusion blending with the worry already evident. "I mean that I remember. It hurts, Amy, but it's a good hurt. And now I know what I need to do." Quick as a flash, I lash my hand out and clutch her wrist. I can see the hidden memories bobbing to the surface in her eyes. When it's over, she staggers to the wall, where she braces herself, taking deep, steadying breaths. "So...Sonic has a sister."/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Chapter 13:/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;""Glad to meet you, Amy Rose." I say, the first words I ever said to her, friendliness lacing the pain in my voice. She smiles at me, tears shimmering in her eyes. Sonic dashes back in, followed by the entire gang. He comes nearer, undoubtedly wondering why Amy looks like she recovered a lost friend, which, technically, she has. I grab his wrist, too, and the same thing happens that happened with Amy. One by one, I do it to the entire gang, until they all remember, but with each person, I grow a little more tired, and finally I fall asleep from exhaustion./div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Chapter 14: Sonic's perspective /div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"I watch Shae sleep. After she restored their memories, everyone but Tails and Amy left. Tails is messing with something he pulled out of his tool belt, and Amy is straightening up my kitchen just for something to do. While I watch her sleep, I think. Among many things, I wonder how easy it was for Eggman to erase everyone's memories of my sister. And I remember all the good times I had with her, but how I never let her go on a mission, until that day she snuck off to find Egghead herself. She turns over in her sleep, and mutters something about Crystal Ocean. I smile to myself. When we were younger, even though she was the youngest, Shae would always tell Tails and I bedtime stories about a hedgehog who lived near Crystal Ocean and, she would always tease me, wasn't afraid to swim. Finally, Amy comes back in and sits on the love seat. I think about my feelings for her, and when I admitted them to Shae, she took charge and tried to get us together. I get up and go sit next to her. Tails looks at us, and with a smirk on his face, gets up and leaves. Shae conveniently turns back over so her face is towards us. Amy looks at me and, blushing, looks at the ground. I grab her hand and lace her fingers through mine. /div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;""Thanks." I say. "For?" She asks, looking me in the eye. I shrug my shoulders and smirk. "Everything. It's good to know I've got you to help me when I need it, like now. How can I make it up to you?" She grins. "Follow me."/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Chapter 15: Back to Shae/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"As soon as Sonic and Amy are gone, my eyes pop open, and I grin. 'Well, looks like all I needed to do to get them together was pass out.' I think to myself. I get up and flip open my communicator. Using the exclude option to not let Sonic and Amy hear, I turn it on. /div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;""Sonic and Amy left. If you see them, sound off." I order. Everyone acknowledges the order. I head out to take care of something./div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"When my memories returned, so did the knowledge of the land. I look at the sky. 'I'm coming for you, Chaos Emeralds.' I think. Though I don't have Sonic's speed or Tails' mechanical know-how, I still know what I'm doing. /div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Chapter 16: Sonic X version/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"It's been several months, and I'm happy once again. Unfortunately, happiness never lasts with Egghead around. Case in point: I'm hiding in a tree near Egghead's lair, waiting for Sonic to rescue Cream and Cheese when a bright dome of light spills out of his fortress and into the surrounding countryside. It quickly envelopes and knocks me out. When I open my eyes, I'm not at the base of a tree, like I was expecting. Instead I'm in a city just like in my false memories. I feel a panic attack closing in. Bringing my knees to my chest, I rock myself, focusing on not hyperventilating. After a little while, I stand and brush myself off, relieved to see I'm still a sky-blue hedgehog and not a human. I search my mind. All my memories are still there. I sigh. So this isn't a fictional city Egghead's machine made. I look around. I'm in an alley which freaks me out. How do I know these things? I shake my head and focus on immediate priorities. Number one: Find Sonic. He'll know what to do. I climb to the roof and scan the city I'm in. Unfortunately I've no idea where to start. I jump back into the alley. I can't let the humans see a hedgehog like me. There's a dumpster near the exit. I lift the lid and immediately get lucky. There's an ankle-length jacket that has a hood and it's moderately clean. I quickly pull it out and on. I pull the hood on and step out of the alley./div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Chapter 17: Sonic's perspective/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Everyone else has been found except Shae. I sit on the roof, hoping either she's safe here, or safe in Mobius. Tails flies up and sits next to me. "We'll find her, Sonic. She can take care of herself. Remember Eggman?" I chuckle and look at the sky, noticing its shade of blue matches Shae's fur. Chris calls out from the window below. "Sonic! Tails! You guys need to take a look at this! They found another hedgehog." As soon as Chris says that, I'm in front of the TV, watching with hopeful intensity. Shae's onscreen, pounding on the glass cage with a panicked expression and tears in her eyes. "That was this new hedgehog yesterday, for those of you just joining us. This is her today." The picture on the screen changes, and I curse under my breath. Shae lies curled in the back of the cage, her quills drooped and a greenish tint to her bright blue. "What's wrong with her, Sonic?" Amy asks, watching the screen around me. "She's sick and they can't tell. They think she can change her color at will, the idiots." I watch as a scientist with a syringe in her hand opens Shae's cage and injects her. She convulses and turns a darker shade of green, still convulsing. As I watch, she turns over. Her eyes open and she pushes herself to her feet, shaking greatly. The scientist watches and quickly gets out and closes the cage. Shae takes a shuddering step forward and braces herself against the cage. She mouths two words that nearly break my heart: "Sonic, please."/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Chapter 18:/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;""We have to rescue her. I just wish I could come up with a plan." I say, crossing my arms in thought. Mister Tenaka nods in agreement. "I recognize that building, Sonic. It's the same government building you rescued Cream and Cheese from. I'm willing to bet that they've upped their security and are ready and waiting for you." "Be that as it may, I can't just sit back and let them poison my little sister like this." "Wha-? Shae's your sister?" Chris asks in amazement. I nod. Chris starts thinking. "I agree with Sonic, mister Tenaka. Maybe Grandpa has an idea." At that moment, Gramps comes down from the attic. "Sonic, did you-Oh good, you're already watching the news. Is this hedgehog on our side?" I turn around. "More than that, Gramps! She's my sister and those government idiots are poisoning her to death. Worst of all, I've got no idea how to rescue her." Amy frowns at me. "This is not the Sonic I know. If you were as anxious to rescue her as you say you are, you'd be speeding to that government base." "You're right. Let's go." I say and speed out./div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Chapter 19: Back to Shae/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"I shudder from the cold that makes this laboratory seem like a freezer. I wrap the pathetic rag they call a quilt around me, but it doesn't help. The bed they put in is like rocks, but when sleep calls, that bed is my only answer. That's where I lie right now, trying to sleep, but my nausea is too strong, so I just clutch my stomach and moan. Suddenly, a great shuddering boom shakes the lab, and the scientists scurry around like ants after a mantis invasion. I chuckle through the nausea. The door shudders again and again. I watch it with pained curiosity. Finally it buckles in and that blue flash I call my brother is in. He immediately comes to my cage and buzz-saws through the door. I clutch his hand when he comes to my bedside. "Hello, big bro. Juice and jam time?" He picks me up with surprising gentleness and cradles me in his arms. "Any other way, little sis?" He says and we're gone before you can say "chili dog"./div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Chapter 20:/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;""This feels very familiar." I chuckle as Amy wipes my forehead with a cool cloth. She chuckles too. "I wonder why?" She says, finishing with the rag and placing it back in the bowl of water. She covers me back up and steps into the kitchen./div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;""I don't know what else to do. She's feverish, but she insists she's freezing." "She's also slightly delirious." Tails says, coming in, rubbing his nose. "She thought I was Egghead and when I tried to calm her, she punched me in the nose. The only person she's able to correctly identify is Sonic, and right now I think he should talk to her." Everyone looks pointedly at the blue hedgehog, who sighs and goes into the sitting room./div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;""Feeling better?" Sonic asks, claiming the chair Amy vacated by the couch I lay on. I nod. "Just really, really tired. Oh, by the way, Eggman came in here and tried to tell me he was Tails. The old guy's losing his mind." Sonic clears his throat. "Um, Shae, that WAS Tails." I think about that, and feel embarrassed. I'm about to apologize when a bout of pain worse than any before hits. I squeeze Sonic's hand and arch my back in pain. I yell in agony. "Make it stop!"/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Chapter 21:/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Everyone comes rushing in, but I hardly notice through the pain. I start calling the government some names that just aren't very nice. Miss Ella sweeps Cream and Cheese into the kitchen. The pain passes and I relax, panting. Sonic crosses his arms and closes his eyes. "I don't care anymore. We're taking her to the hospital." I stare at him. "Is THAT what you were talking about in the kitchen?" Everyone seems suddenly interested in the hardwood floor. Sonic picks me up. "You guys take the X-Tornado and we'll meet you at the hospital." They nod and the world blurs as Sonic runs. "Why the hospital?" I ask as Sonic runs. "I told the doctors there to be prepared if you showed up. To be honest, I was kinda hoping that you'd get better on your own. But I took some precautions just... Just in case." I yawn, suddenly very tired. "Don't go to sleep on me now, Shae. I have an idea. Tell me a story." "But why? I'm so tired. That hedgehog by Crystal Ocean can wait until after my nap, can't it?" Sonic shakes his head emphatically. "Please? It'll keep you awake." A thought suddenly occurs to me and my eyes shoot open. "Sonic, will they use n-needles on me?" Sonic visibly winces, calling to mind my fear of needles. He nods and I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself down. I grin and give him a thumbs-up. "Suddenly, I feel much better, Sonic." I say in a desperate attempt to escape the needles soon to come. He frowns grimly, and shakes his head. "Sorry, little sis, but this is for your own good. I just want you better." "Aw, big brother, you can't get rid of me this...This easily." I yawn and my eyes close, despite Sonic's pleading./div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Chapter 22:/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"When I sleep, I dream. This time isn't an exception. In my dreams, I wander through the Mobian forest, feeling lost and alone. I have the feeling I'm looking for someone and can't find them. Suddenly, Sonic comes running up, a little bit younger. He grins at me and says, "There you are! I was getting worried. Let's find Tails and go home. He's making chili dogs for dinner." I grin and clamber onto Sonic's back. He speeds off, but gradually gets slower. Finally he stops. He pulls me off his back and sticks me in a bush. "Stay quiet, Shae. Doctor Eggman's up ahead. Whatever you do, don't come out. Remember that, now." He runs off and I think to myself, 'What's so bad about Eggman? I bet I could take him.' I crawl out of the bush and run away. Suddenly, my conscious self realizes something. This is the memory of when I disappeared and Egghead got me. I shake with rage when I realize that in human years, I couldn't have older than a kindergartner. Even from a young age, I knew the flames that flowed alongside the blood in my veins. 'Who says I have to watch my memories? Maybe I should have some practice with my flames.' I think. The forest in my mind is a good place to practice. I let the flames off their leash and feel them flow out. But before they can flow too freely, I wonder if they could start burning in real life and rein them back in. Suddenly, someone's shaking me awake./div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Chapter 23:/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"I open my eyes and gasp. I'm in a tank surrounded by water. I love water, but I like it better from a distance. "L-Let me out...I don't like this." To calm myself, I start humming an old song I told Sonic the hedgehog on Crystal Ocean wrote:/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;""This little beach/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Is all I have,/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"And yet it makes me smile./div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Are you my friend?/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"'Cause if you are,/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"You can come and sit a while."/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"I can't sit up because I'd only face-slam the tank and that'd hurt. I wonder why they placed me in here. Then something occurs to me: What if my flames DID erupt in reality? That question in my mind, I start pounding on the glass. "Hey! Is anyone listening? I've got a question and I want it answered!" A radio I didn't notice before crackles to life by my hip. "Good to see you're awake, Miss Shae. What's your question?" "Why am I in here?" "Let me explain, Miss Shae."/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Chapter 24:/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;""Your big brother Sonic the hedgehog sped into the ER with you in his arms, unconscious. We rushed you to the OR for operating, being previously alerted to your condition. But on the operating table, your heart stopped. We alerted your brother, who was extremely agitated and rushed out. Suddenly a nurse in your room screamed. I rushed in and was shocked. Flames were flowing from you like waves on a beach. With each flame, your heartbeat and breathing grew stronger. But the flames were rapidly growing out of control. We used a fire extinguisher and placed you in this experimental holding unit." I grin sheepishly. "Thanks, but, um," I rap on the glass, "Can you let me out?"/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Some time later, after my release and thanks and apologies, I step out of the hospital. I carry myself with a new confidence after discovering the full extent of my...Firepower, I guess. I look around and grin. "Well, I'm back from the dead. Let's see if anyone mistakes me for a ghost."/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Chapter 25:/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"I return to the Thorndykes' house and knock on the front door. Mister Tanaka answers it with tears in his eyes and doesn't even realize that it's me. "I'm sorry, we're not taking visitors at the moment. A friend of the family's has recently passed." I whip out my jacket from earlier and slip it on and use the hood to hide my face. "What a shame! I'm sorry to hear that. What was the person's name, might I inquire?" Mister Tanaka looks down at the ground. "She was a young girl by the name of Shae. Her brother is on the roof, and hasn't said a thing aside from alerting us to her death. Everyone is quite upset." I frown and turn, throwing him a wave. "Well, I must be off. Tell Sonic an old friend he knows very well stopped by." "Wait, you know Sonic? I apologize, please come in." I grin and nod. "Gladly, my dear Tanaka." I stroll in, ignoring him when he asks for my coat. I sit in the living room and wait. Amy and Tails walk in, their eyes puffy from crying. "I apologize, I guess I came at a bad time." I stand up to leave. Amy shakes her head. "No, stay, please. Why don't you remove your coat?" I stay silent, trying to think my way out of this mess. Then I get an idea. "I recently got a haircut and it's absolutely hideous. I came to offer my condolences on Shae, but I have something else to add: Things are not always what they appear to be. Well, I must be off. If you need to find me, I'll be staying in the Fair Dreams hotel in Station Square. Bye!" I say and stroll out the door./div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Chapter 26:/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Amy and Tails stare after the stranger as she hurriedly exits the house. "What was that about, Amy?" Tails asks. "I don't know, but I think we'd better tell Sonic." They quickly alert the hedgehog, who crosses his arms in thought. "I'll check it out, but I don't know about this." He says and dashes out. Before he can get too far, however, he stops and sits on a park bench across the street from the Fair Dreams hotel. "Please, Shae, come back. I just got you back and I lost you again." Suddenly, someone seems to materialize on the bench next to him. "It's okay, big brother. I'm always close. Especially considering the fact that I DIDN'T FREAKING DIE." She shouts the last part into his perked ear and wraps him in a big hug. After a couple seconds of stunned silence, he laughs in pure joy and wraps his sister in his arms. "Wait, you were the person in the coat at the house? What's with all the secrecy?" She grins mischievously and chuckles quietly. "A little time to see never hurt a thing, Sonic."/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Chapter 27: Back on Mobius/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"I sit in my lab, fingering the result of my latest experiment: A flower that is made of diamond. Luckily I'm wearing gloves because it turns everything it touches into diamond, temporarily. Knuckles comes in, looking expectant. I grab the jar and hold it up for him to see. "I think your batty girlfriend will like this. Just tell her not to touch it. Even temporarily, being made of diamond is no fun. I have experience with that, trust me." I hand it to him and he leaves without a thanks. "Humph, how rude. Anyway, let's get back to work." I look around and sigh, face-palming myself. "Who am I talking to?" "Could it be me, Shae?" A black and red hedgehog steps out of the shadows. Ironically enough, his name is Shadow. "Hello, Shadow. Running an errand for that pompous blowhard, Eggman?" He shakes his head and leans against the wall. "Well then, what are you doing here?" "Wreaking a little havoc." He says, and pulls out a match. I back up to my desk with a gasp. "Y-you wouldn't." I stutter, madly floundering for a weapon. My glove slips up and the heel of my hand brushes another diamond plant I had sitting next to the one for Knuckles. I wince as the skin on my body turns hard and my quills stiffen straight up. Suddenly I realize this could be used to my advantage. I can still move in diamond form, and since it's the hardest mineral on Mobius, I can't get hurt. As the diamond grows around my face, I close my eyes so the diamond doesn't work its way into my insides. But they still make my eyes milky white, as I found out the first time with the help of a mirror. I snap my eyes open and swivel them onto Shadow, who, though his face remains passive, drops the match in shock and bolts out the door. I laugh and stick out my tongue. /div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Chapter 28:/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"I wait till the diamond falls off and gather it up. I bring them back to my desk as an idea glimmers to life. Sonic and Amy have been dating for three years and Sonic needs to give her something special. I gather the diamonds in my hands and carry them across the room, heading for another workstation. Suddenly, a great shuddering boom shakes what feels like all of Mobius and sends me to my knees, scattering the diamond pieces onto the floor. I growl in anger and struggle to my feet. I shake my quills out and glance out the window. The Death Egg hovers high up in the air. 'I thought Sonic destroyed that.' I think to myself, gazing up at it worriedly. Suddenly a hole in the bottom opens and a giant megaphone slides out. "I am aware that you puny idiots think that my Death Egg was destroyed. So I am here to introduce to you the Death Egg 3.0. Been NOT nice knowing you!" He laughs evilly and withdraws his megaphone. It is replaced by a rather large rocket launcher. I sigh and slip on my red gloves with the fingers cut off that I like so much. Before I can run out the door however, a blue flash speeds into the door and stops. Sonic points a finger at me. "You. Stay." He says and speeds away. The door slams behind him. Suddenly, Tails flies to my window. "Hey, Shae. Where's Sonic? I've got something I need to tell him." I point at the Death Egg and a look of fear comes over Tails' face. "You're joking, right?" I frown, puzzled, and shake my head to show I'm serious. "Oh, that's really, really, really not good." "Why?" I ask, growing worried. /div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Chapter 29:/div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;""Because I put an explosive device on the Death Egg. If Sonic gets up there, he'll get injured." "Yeah, but unless he can fly, Sonic can't get up there, but just in case..." I don't finish my sentence, and jump out the window. "How long until it blows?" I ask as Tails flies over my shoulder. "About fifteen minutes. Why are you asking?" "I'm going to get up there and disable it. You find Sonic. Don't tell him I'm up there, but keep him off that thing." He stares at me incredulously./div  
div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" "How are you going to get up there, Shae?" I grin and/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"gesture behind me, where a rather large catapult stands. He nods and/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"flies off. I run over and start prepping the catapult. Twenty minutes/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"and some rope burns later, I'm flying through the air, headed straight/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"for the Death Egg. I land and straighten up, shaking the dust off. I/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"look around for defense guns, which are, coincidentally, all pointed/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"everywhere but the ten-foot circle where I stand. It's too perfect, I/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"realize. But I still have to go through with this, even if it's the/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"last thing I do. In my mind, I cycle through my friends, memorizing/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"their faces for possibly the last time. Suddenly, a hatch I didn't/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"notice before opens in front of me opens and a square-shaped yellow/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"robot pops his head out. "Master welcomes you to the Death Egg. He/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"also asks you to step in, that is, if you want to live." I notice in/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"my peripheral vision the guns swiveling towards me and humming with/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"power. Against my better judgement, I slip down the hole. I later/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"learn it was to be one of my last human interactions for a while./spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;""It is good to see you, Shae." "Wish I could say the same, Egghead./spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Listen, I've got something important to-". "The bomb?" He waves one/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"hand dismissively then quickly laces it with his other under his chin/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"again. "Taken care of. I think, today, the one making deals will be/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"me." Alarm bells start to peal in my head. He motions to a chair./spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;""Sit. We have much to discuss."/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Chapter 30:/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"I remain standing. What doofus wouldn't? Eggman frowns and puts on a/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"mask of hurt. "What, my chairs aren't good enough for you? Ah, well./spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Everyone's a critic. Now." Suddenly he gets businesslike, which/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"worries me. "As you know, I already have a rather large rocket pointed/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"at your little Knothole. Granted, I don't know the exact location, but/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"if it's in a hundred-mile radius, you can say bye-bye to Knothole./spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Unless...You let me roboticize you." My rational part instantly vetoes/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"the idea, but the irrational, yet saner, part of me realizes I'm/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"everyone's last hope, even if they don't trust or even like me. I sigh/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"in resignation and hold out my hands, which are roughly seized and/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"tied. "You're lucky, Shae." He says, swiveling to the full-wall/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"window. "Usually I'm not feeling so honest." That is the last thing/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"someone says to me before the robotization begins./spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"At first, it's just bright lights, scanning my body. But then the/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"metal hands come. They rip out parts of my body and replace them with/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"robot parts. Or that's what I think at first. What really happens is/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"metal is wired to my skin, just a covering, even though it's hooked/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"directly to my nervous system. Finally the pain ends and I step out. I/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"realize with a shock that I shouldn't be able to think, let alone be/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"aware of my surroundings. I don't know if this was supposed to happen,/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"or it was a fluke, but I sure as Mobius am not complaining. I walk to/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"the nearest window. No one complains about me being out of place. In/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"fact, one person passing by mutters something about better me than/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"him. That really sets me off. Even though we're over 100 feet in the/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"air, I punch through the window and jump./spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"I use my fall to hope and wish that my new body was as strong as I/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"needed it to be to survive this fall. Luckily it is. I merely make a/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"clanging noise like a church bell, and vibrate for a minute. After/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"brushing myself off, realizing I get dirty a lot, I start walking/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"home. As I pass through a little grove, several freedom fighters/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"surround me, pointing at me with laser guns. Obviously they don't/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"recognize me. I put my hands up in surrender, and let them handcuff me/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"and lead me before the court. They force me to kneel in front of/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Princess Sally Acorn, who is currently residing over the court. "I/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"just saved Knothole, and this is the thanks I get?" I mutter. Bunnie/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Rabbot, a cyborg who escaped full robotization, looks at me, shocked./spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"The rest don't seem to hear me. Sally continues passing my sentence,/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"when Bunnie leans over and hurriedly whispers in her ear. Sally and/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"the rest of the court look shocked. They quickly untie me and get me/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"back on my feet. Sally stands in front of me. "What happened to you,/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Shae?" She asks, horror evident on her face. "I let Eggbreath/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"roboticize me to prevent him from firing a very big rocket at/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Knothole, and everything in a hundred-mile radius."/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Chapter 31:/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;""Monsieur Sonic ees not going to be very happy, Shae." "I honestly/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"don't care what Sonic thinks right now, Antoine. I had to make a/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"split-second decision to save Knothole." Suddenly Sonic comes rushing/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"in. "Hey, guys. What are you doing talking to a robot?! Leave this to/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"me." Sally leaps in front of me and Sonic screeches to a stop. "I/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"wouldn't." She says, staring him in the face. "Unless you WANT to/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"destroy your sister." That stops him dead in his tracks and we both/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"peer around Sally and end up locking eyes. "Shae? What-?" I grin and/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"save my metallic hand. "Hi, big brother. Surprise."/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"After the yelling match and explanation are done with, Sonic stands/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"deep in thought. "You realize Jules isn't going to be happy. He was/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"seriously hoping to be the only robot in the family." I think about/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"our father, who was roboticized, and pale, that is, if robots could/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"pale. I hadn't even thought about that when I'd made my decision. "He/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"can think what he wants, Sonic. No one seems to care about the fact/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"that I just saved Knothole and every other village in a hundred-mile/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"radius." And with that, I storm home to see Jules./spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;""You remember what happened to me. I tried to protect you, but you/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"brought this on yourself." Jules says to me, flat and/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"matter-of-factly. "No one listens! I said I did it to protect/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Knothole. What part of that does no one understand? Can you tell me,/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"or have you just sent your emotions on a one-way trip?!" Jules looks/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"at me worriedly. "You must calm down, Shae. The more agitated you are,/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"the easier it will be for Eggman to bring you back under his control./spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Plus, he could remotely activate a tracker, revealing the location of/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Knothole." I frown. "I didn't realize I could expose Knothole. I'm/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"sorry, but I need to go. I'll be back...Later." I pivot and walk out/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"the door./spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Chapter 32:/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"As I walk, Bunnie suddenly comes up beside me. "You know, ah have/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"experience with being a robot. If y'all want, ah could-." I turn to/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"look her in the eye. "Thank you, Ms. Rabbot. But I'm now the Knothole/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"wildcard. I'm used to that being my brother, but now if my emotions/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"get out of check, Eggbutt could potentially take control of me, and I/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"cannot and will not risk anybody's life with that. So I'm just going/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"to walk away. No one gets hurt. But take this." I hand her a wearable/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"radio. "If ever you need me, just call and I'll come flying." I turn/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"to leave, but before I can, she wraps me in a tight hug, making me/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"promise to radio her if I'm ever lonely. I nod, trying not to tear up,/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"and hurriedly dash into the forest./spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"2 days later, on Angel Island.../spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"I land on the edge of Angel Island and look around, not seeing/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Knuckles anywhere. I keep walking and suddenly hear a rough growl from/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"behind me. "What are you doing here, robot?" Knuckles growls at me. I/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"slowly turn and put my hands up in surrender. "It's me, Knuckles./spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Shae, Sonic's sister." Knuckles sighs and lowers his fists. He pulls/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"rope out of his tool belt and loops it twice around my hands,/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"efficiently tying them together. "Sorry, Shae. I can't take any/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"chances, what with Eggman on the loose." He leads me to a small shed/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"and gently ties me to a hook in the wall. "Sorry." He repeats again,/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"as he closes the door. I quickly maneuver my wrist around so I can use/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"my radio. "Bunnie, do you read me?" I ask, talking quietly with one/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"eye on the door. "Loud and clear, sugah hog. Lonely already?" I/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"chuckle metallically. "I would say you're a mind reader, Bunnie, but/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"you're not even in the ballpark." I quickly explain what happened and/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"tell her that I'm worried I'm putting Knuckles in danger with a/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"  
/span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"possible tracker. "Don't worry, sugah hog. I'm sending Tails to yah/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"coordinates now. Bunnie over and out." The radio clicks off, leaving/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"me in a musty silence that makes me extremely jumpy. Suddenly there's/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"a knock on the door, which makes me jump three feet and bruise my/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"wrists. Tails cracks open the door, sneezing. Rubbing his eyes with/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"the heels of his hands, he looks around until he sees me. "Shae, thank/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"goodness you're here! Metal Sonic is attacking Knothole!"/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Chapter 33:/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Tails quickly unites my wrists and I fly us off Angel Island back to/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Knothole. I land and Tails clambers off my back, pointing with a/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"shaking finger at a metallic hedgehog laying waste to everything with/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"a blowtorch. I fly and ram into him, slightly melting the metal on my/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"forearms in the process. "Hey, robo-jalopy! No playing with fire!/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"You'll burn your lovely spikes. Like mine!" I curl into a ball and cut/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"my spines down his chest, sending sparks from both of us. "Objective,/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"burn Knothole. Destroy citizens." "Ooh, yeah. Can't let you do that,/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Metal. Hey!" I light my face up in a fake grin. "Let's go for a swim!"/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"I take both of us and fly to the bottom of a nearby pond, ignoring my/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"own wild sparking, I keep Metal submerged until he quits thrashing and/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"oil starts to leak. Then I fish him out and throw him where his oil/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"won't pollute anything. I climb out of the water and struggle back to/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Knothole, electrified water pouring out of my everything. Finally, I/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"come to a house at the edge of Knothole and lean against it, panting/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"heavily even though I'm a robot. "Well, that was fun." I say, and fall/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"to the ground, shorting out./spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"I wake up on a metal table in an unfamiliar building. I struggle to/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"sit up but realize my stomach thinks that's not a wise decision./spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Suddenly a black and yellow robot comes in, carrying a can of oil./spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"He's about to oil me when he realizes that I'm awake. "Hey, Shae! Glad/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"to see you're back from the dead. My name's Shard. I'm part of the/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"secret Freedom Fighters." "I remember you." I say, struggling to get/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"up. Shard pushes me back down with his non-adaptable arm. "Um, I/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"wouldn't do that if I were you. We had to do some major repairs and/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"you're probably still a little weak." I try to sit up again, but find/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"my body agrees with what he says. "How much repair did you do?"/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;""Before I tell you, I just wanted to say everyone's impressed that you/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"managed to take down a Metal so fast. Anyway, as for repairs, we redid/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"your forearms and quills, which had melted slightly. We tried to redo/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"your circuitry, but discovered that, unlike other roboticized people,/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"the metal is just sort of an armor for you, which would explain why/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"you kept your personality. Pretty soon, someone's going to come in and/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"blindfold you. When that happens, just remember we're taking you back/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"to Knothole. Also, we installed a second channel on your radio so you/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"can communicate with us now." I absorb all the information with my/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"eyes closed, then open them again to ask a question. "Why didn't you/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"remove the metal on me?" "We received information that Princess Sally/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"has been roboticized. Keep in mind, you've been out for a while, Shae./spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"We left the metal on so you could try and rescue her. To be honest,/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"everyone's really hoping you can do this. It'd be a weight off/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"everyone's mind." "Sure. No pressure." I mutter, getting to my feet/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"finally. "Well, thanks. I'll fly to the Death Egg and try to save/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"her." I say, and fly out of the building./spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Chapter 34:/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"I fly to the Death Egg and stealthily land inside. I creep to Eggman's/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"main control room. There, I confront both him and Mecha Sally./spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;""Eggman! I've come to rescue Sally!" Eggman just chortles with glee./spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;""Go ahead! Though since she's loyal to me, I'm certain she'll fight."/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"I walk up to Sally and look her in the eye. "Time to go, Princess." I/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"grab one arm, but with the other, she grabs my throat and lifts me off/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"the ground. I just laugh and curl into a ball. I graze her palm and/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"she drops me as oil leaks out. I grab her around the waist and tug us/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"both to the window. I push it open with my shoulder. At the last/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"second, Sally rips free, disables my rockets, and pushes me out./spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Shocked, I fall./spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"As I fall, I desperately try to fix my feet. But I realize that won't/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"work. I turn on my radio. "Bunnie? Can I talk to Sonic?" I calmly ask./spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"She gets him and puts him on. "Big brother, don't say anything. Just/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"listen. I tried to save Sally. She decimated my rockets. Now I'm/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"free-falling from about 1000 feet. Tell Jules, Bernie, Uncle Chuck,/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"and Muttski I love them. Tell all the other Freedom Fighters good/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"luck. I love you, big bro." "I love you too, sis. I promise, Eggman'll/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"pay for this. I just wish I could say this all to your face." I sigh,/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"picturing his face one last time. "Me too, big bro. Let me radio/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"someone else and then we'll talk." I switch the radio to the Secret/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Freedom Fighters channel. "Shard? Got your ears on? If you have some/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"magical way to save someone falling out of the sky, now would be a/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"good time to use it." "On my way with my magic. It's called flying." I/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"see Shard rising from a corner of the forest. He flies at me and/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"snatches me out of the air. If either of us weren't metal, we would've/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"had mondo bruises. As it was, I'm pretty sure he jarred a circuit or/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"two. "Thanks for the save, Shard. Can we stop by Knothole real quick?"/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"He nods and changes course. He sets me down near the edge of Knothole./spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;""Thanks, Shard. Wait here." He nods and dives into a nearby bush. I/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"turn and walk into Knothole./spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Chapter 35:/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Everyone looks surprised to see me as I walk to the Council Hall. But/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"no one interrupts me, most likely because one arm had metal removed/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"and the rest of me is covered in leaves and twigs. I burst into the/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Council Hall. "Where's Sonic? I need to talk to him." The Council just/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"stares at me in shock. "All right, so I survived. I landed in a tall/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"tree which removed the metal on one arm and covered the rest of me in/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"leaves and twigs. Yes, I'm alive! Now where's my brother?" Knuckles,/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"who is the only person not acting completely surprised at seeing me,/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"gestures at Tails' workshop with a thumb. I acknowledge him with a nod/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"and head that way./spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"I rap on Tails' door with my non-metal fist. Sonic opens the door,/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"looking downcast. As soon as he sees me, however, his expression/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"brightens and he wraps me in a bone-crunching hug. "By this time, you/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"should think I've learned to cheat death, Sonic." "I know, I know./spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Good to see you, Shae." "You too, Sonic. Now put me down before more/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"of my metal comes off." He obliges and we both trek inside to see/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Tails' newest invention. "What do you got for us, Tails?" I ask,/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"rubbing my hands together in anticipation. "If you'll kindly remove/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"your radio and step into that capsule, Shae." Tails asks, pointing to/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"one with a tail. I oblige and wonder what's going on. "Now watch/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"this." He says and I hear him flip a switch. Lights scan over my body/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"for a few seconds and then the capsule hisses open. I crouch on my/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"knees to release a breath I didn't know I'd been holding. Sonic just/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"tries to see through the mist, but I can tell he doesn't see me. I get/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"to my feet shakily, and step out of the capsule-fog. Sonic stares at/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"me in shock. He looks at Tails once, and Tails just nods and grins. I/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"look down and stop. The metal on me is gone. Aside from a red tint to/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"my skin, I'm totally normal. I let out a slightly hysteric laugh and/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"jump into Sonic's arms. After we finish hugging, I wrap Tails in my/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"arms, unable to hide my smile. "Thanks, little brother." I chuckle in/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"his ear. He chuckles in response. Then he pushes away. "The Council/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"wants to talk to you, Shae. They think you broke a rule." My cheeks/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"flush with rage. "What?! Let's go. I want to talk to them."/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Chapter 36:/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"I storm into the Council Hall, struggling to keep my face composed. My/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"heart twinges a little when I see Sally's empty seat. "Hello, Council./spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"What can I do for you, today?" I ask, attempting to leak as much/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"sarcasm as possible. "Hello, Shae. According to statute 15 of the/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size:  
12.8000001907349px;"Knothole Laws, any citizen who allows themselves to be roboticized is/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"considered a traitor to Knothole. Any objections?" "Yes. I went up to/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"the Death Egg to allow Eggman a chance to repent before a bomb/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"destroyed the Death Egg. I discovered he'd disabled the bomb and would/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"destroy everything in a hundred-mile radius, unless I let him/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"roboticize me. I consented, was able to keep my free will, and/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"escaped. But Eggman kept his promise, so in fact, I saved Knothole and/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"every other village in a hundred-mile radius. I'm done." "Be that as/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"it may, Shae, you could have possibly lost your free will and given/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"away Knothole's location. The Council votes for 12 months in prison./spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"Do you consent, or will we have to take you by force?" I hold my hands/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"out and allow a scowl to darken my face. "I consent. I apologize,/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"having not known this rule beforehand. So tie me up. Let's get this/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"over with."/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"I sit in a jail cell, my foot chained to the wall. I stare at the/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"sheriff, who refuses to even glance my way. I fiddle with my radio,/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"secretly tuning it to the Secret Freedom Fighters frequency. "Shard,/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"this is Shae. Do you copy?" "Roger, Shae. Where are you? I'm still/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"waiting." "You'll be waiting a while, Shard. They arrested me. Now/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"I've got to sit in jail for 12 months. Sorry!" I explain, chuckling/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"darkly at the end. "What? Hold on, I'm on my way. Oh, and Shae? Be/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"prepared to hold your breath."/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"I wait for a while, humming a song about grave injustice. Suddenly my/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"radio clicks on again. "Hold your breath now, Shae." From somewhere, I/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"can't tell where, I hear hissing. I inhale deeply and the sheriff/spanbr style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"collapses, unconscious. The hissing stops and Shard strolls in,/spanspan style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"an arrogant smirk plastered on his face. "And that...Is how you do that." He says, admiring his handiwork. "Stop being an egotistical can opener and get me out of here." I complain, feebly shaking the metal bars. He walks over and pops the door off its hinges. "Hold on." I say, pulling out a pen and paper. "Gotta leave big brother a message:"/span/div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"Sonic,/div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"Got out of prison. Gonna lay low until the Council removes my charges. /div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"Love, Shae./div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"Chapter 37:/div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"I step out of the roboticizer, glad to have my metal back. "As much as I enjoy being flesh and bone, I think I'm more suited to be a robot." "I agree, Shae. Being metal suits you." Nicole's hologram says. I grin. "Thanks, Nicole. Shard, are you sure no one's ever found this place? I don't want to put your group in danger with the possible man-hunt searching for me." Shard arches one eyebrow, obviously doubting my sincerity. "Trust me. As long as we don't want to be found, we won't be found. Now then, are you sure you want to join the SFF? Once you say yes, there's no turning back." I think about it for a second, then hold out my hand to shake. "Sure. This should be fun." After being hailed in and given the code name Queen of Clubs, I'm given a solo mission to test my mettle. "You're serious?! That's my mission? You do realize half of Knothole is probably searching for me, right?" Director Who sighs and looks me in the eye. "Yes, Shae, I am aware of that. As I said before, no one will expect you to return to Knothole after you left that note to your brother. And if you need backup, Shard will be close by, ready and willing to help." I frown and shrug on my span class="aBn" style="border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-color: #cccccc; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0" data-term="goog_562822779"span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;"midnight/span/span-blue jumpsuit. "Fine. I'll go to Knothole, break into the Council Hall and plant a bug. That way, we can assist in any way possible." Harvey nods and I sigh. I turn to leave. "Let's go, Jack." I mutter, calling Shard by his code name. He nods and follows close behind me./div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"Chapter 38:/div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"I crouch in the air vent above the Councilors' table and weld a small metal bug onto the wall. I'm about to crawl out when a bright, white light sweeps through, enveloping and knocking me out./div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;""Miss, are you okay?" A voice asks, and I slowly regain consciousness. A furry face appears in my field of vision. I focus in and see that it's actually two: A koala and a panda. "Are you okay, Miss?" The panda asks again. I drunkenly nod and stumble to my feet. "Who are you two?" "I'm Gwen the koala." "And I'm Madi the panda." "Thanks for the assistance, guys." They both grin and high-five each other. "We just got thanked by Shae the hedgehog! Dude, check if that's in the tourist BINGO." Madi says and Gwen pulls a pamphlet out of her backpack and grins. "Oh, sweet! Score!" Gwen marks something off with a pen. I arch one eyebrow. "Seriously?" I sigh and shake my head. "Look, can you just tell me where I am?" "Oh sure. You're in Green Hill Zone." I pause. How the heck did I get here? Last thing I remember was planting a bug in the Council Hall. "Where are you guys heading? If you want, I could escort you." They both look at each other and nod at the same time. "We're on our way to Knothole. We know they're searching for you, so we won't ask that you escort us. Instead, we'll give you the number of our private radio channel. We may not look like it, but we can be pretty fierce when we want to. Good meeting you, Shae." "You too, guys. Bye!" I watch them walk off, talking animatedly between them, gesturing wildly with their hands. I turn on my radio. "Director, are you there?" I'm met with static. "Jack? King? Anyone?" Again, more static. I frown in concern and fire up my rocket boots. I take off, heading for Secret H.Q. /div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"Chapter 39:/div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"I land inside, preparing my weapon. It's too quiet for my liking. "Hello? Is anyone here?" I call into the shadows, mentally preparing myself. Shard steps out of the shadows, startling me. I get off one shot, but luckily it goes wide. Shard grabs my wrist and forces it towards the floor. "Calm down, Shae. Our electricity and communications are down. That's not an excuse to kill me, though. Get up. Director wants to speak to you." /div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;""That was a Genesis Wave. It rewrote our world, but for some reason, it only affected the terrain. Everything else is still the same. You need to complete your mission. So, go on!" Director Who tells me and shoos me out. I turn and march out. /div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"I crouch on a grassy hill near Knothole. All of a sudden, I hear screaming. I fly up to get a bird's-eye view of the situation. Suddenly something hard and metallic crashes into me and I turn to face it. /div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;""Oh, another Metal, huh? Let's go, Boy Blue." I hear yelling from below./div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;""Shae! That's Sonic! He's been roboticized!" I turn to him, wide-eyed./div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;""I can't fight you, Sonic."/div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;""Then surrender." I slowly shake my head, and feel a fist connect with my face. I fly backwards from the force. I flip open my communicator. /div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;""Bring me all the seven Chaos Emeralds we have, Silver. No arguing. I may not live long enough for that." I flip my com-link closed soon enough to feel Sonic's foot connect with my chest, cracking the metal in a sharp diagonal slash. I let out a small gasp as I plow into the cobblestone streets of Knothole. I open my eyes and the seven Chaos Emeralds hover around me, held in place psychically. I grab them and let out a wet laugh. /div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;""Finally! Shall I level the playing field, brother?"/div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;" /div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"Chapter 40:/div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;" /div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"I close my eyes and concentrate, ignoring the repeated blows to my chest and the sound of my ribs splintering. The Emeralds are now held in the air by my mind instead of Silver's. They spin faster and faster. I form a ball of light blue energy in my hands and fire it at Metal Sonic's chest. He falls, immobilized, and the metal cracks in half and hisses off. Unfortunately, the Emeralds are spinning out of my control. I realize that their energy is flowing under my metal and pushing it off. My skin, oddly is golden and my quills pull themselves out of my ponytail and hover, gravity defiant. The citizens gather in a crowd and point at me, whispering./div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;""Oh, you have yet to meet a real challenge, Shae! Behold, Perfect Chaos, powered by false Chaos Emeralds!" A barrel drops from the Death Egg and splatters on the ground. An odd blue, clear liquid oozes out and forms itself into a giant snake. It roars at me. /div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;""Perfect Chaos? What's so perfect about you?" I tease. The Chaos energy is affecting me oddly, almost like an allergic reaction. I notice I'm drifting towards Chaos. He turns towards me and snaps. I grin and narrowly dodge his attack. I realize what I have to do. When he attacks again, I let him eat me. /div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;" /div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"Chapter 41:/div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;" /div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"I feel the energy of the 14 Chaos Emeralds, 7 real, 7 fake. Chaos roars as I take control. The very liquid he's made of starts to steam and smoke. /div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;""I am your master! You will obey me!" Eggman yells frantically. Then Chaos explodes./div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"I crawl out of the ooze and inspect myself. Half of my skin is still golden, but the other half is dark blue and has a shimmer to it. I grin and struggle to my feet./div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;""Perfect Chaos, meet Perfect Harmony. For millennia we have battled, light against dark. Every time we choose a host, but this is the first time we have chosen the same host." I pause, startled. I have absolutely NO idea where these words are coming from. /div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;""This girl is strong. She has to be, to carry two primordial gods in her. Honestly, I'm a little shocked her brain hasn't fried by now." The puddle of ooze is slowly reforming into a humanoid shape and I let it, walking a slow circle around it./div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;""You realize only part of the energy of Chaos and the Master Emerald remains on Floating Island. The rest is contained in her. Indeed, from the day she was born, you and I have clashed, but like every millennium, I am destined to rise. I created this world from dust," The voice in my voice says, letting golden energy dance across my fingers, "And I shall be around to watch it return to dust. Indeed even Dark and Light Gaia were created by myself. But I needed a playmate. That is how you were born. Mind from mind. And I imbued you within Chaos, to be released by his rage, but this girl has proven she can control us both. She has accepted us both and only time will tell if her brain will fry from the effort. But no more of this robotization garbage. You and I agree on the fact that if we have a host, she must be pure. Now come out of Chaos and into the girl." A dark syrup spews from Chaos' foot and crawls to me where it dissolves on my skin and sizzles like acid. Chaos straightens up from his hunched back and nods at me. I nod back. Then my vision goes black./div


End file.
